Businessman who hired hit man gets six years

CINCINNATI — A businessman has admitted to hiring a hit man to kill a business rival who used to work for him. Jeffrey Gabbour, 39, of suburban Montgomery, was sentenced Tuesday in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court to six years in prison after pleading guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit murder and three charges of attempted murder. “It’s terrible how far Mr. Gabbour has fallen from successful businessman to convicted criminal,” Judge Ralph Winkler said. Assistant Hamilton County Prosecutor Mark Piepmeier said Gabbour sought to kill Jairo Vargas and his family. “The victims are just petrified,” Piepmeier said. “They’re comfortable with him in prison, but we need to make sure when he gets out he doesn’t do anything.” Gabbour also faces five years of probation. If he violates probation, he’ll be returned to prison for 30 years — an unusual sentence that Winkler said was to protect Gabbour’s intended victims.